In the small village of Villingen, Hesse-Darmstadt, 40 km NE of Frankfurt, Konrad Stiehler was born 11 June 1837 to Johann Stiehler and his wife Juliane
Bender. Johann as born in the same village in 1798. When Conrad was 17, he left for New York.
During the latter part of 1859, Gertrude Frank from Wettges, Hesse-Cassel and her three grown children, Margarethe (21), Heinrich (19) and
Katharina (15), set out to Bremen to find a ship to take them to America. They arrived in the Port of New Orleans aboard the Heinrich Von Gagern 24 Oct. 1859. Where the family was
for the next few years is unknown, but Katharina made her way North to eventually meet Konrad Stiehler. Although Wettges and Villingen are less than 30 km apart, it is unlikely they even heard of
the other’s
village, and certainly not their names. But once they spoke and heard the very familiar dialect, they would have been reminded of home.
Konrad and Katharina married in 1864, probably in one of the many German language churches in the area around Middle Village in Queens County. There they started
their family until they acquired the 90-acre farm on Springfield Road in Fosters Meadow around 1875. Konrad was active in and became a Trustee of St Paul German Presbyterian Church and continued
to farm with his sons until he suffered from a protracted illness and died at Jamaica Hospital 26 Oct. 1901. Katharina sold the farm in 1922. She died 18 Mar. 1922. Konrad and Katharina are
buried at St Paul Cemetery. They had nine children.
-
Caroline was born 15 Apr. 1865, probably in Middle Village. When she was 20 years old living on her father’s farm on Springfield Road, she married the
boy next door. Franz Buck, born 12 Apr. 1857 living on the Buck farm across the road. They were married 5 Apr. 1888 at St Paul Church on Elmont Road. He initially worked for his father
but by 1892 he was running the farm. He died 12 Feb. 1904 and Caroline took over running the farm with the help of her sons. By 1920 she had turned the farm over to them. She died 28 Sept.
1935. Franz and Caroline are buried at St Paul Cemetery. They had 10 children.
-
Wilhelmine (Minnie) was born Apr. 1867 in Middle Village. On 12 Feb. 1888, she married at St Paul, Adam Iberger, a farmer from the Town of
Flushing. He was born 24 May 1863 at Maspeth, NY and died 8 Dec. 1909 in Queens County. She died 1 Feb. 1931. They had seven children.
-
Philip was born 1871, probably in Middle Village. He was a wholesale produce dealer in Brooklyn, buying and selling the crops that farmers brought to
market. In 1895 he married Wilhelmine Bergmann (b. 1874 Brooklyn, NY) at St Paul and continued to live in Brooklyn, raising 5 children. Wilhelmine died Jan. 1933. Philip died 27 May
1951.
-
Elizabeth, born 25 Apr. 1873, was the last Stiehler child born in Middle Village. She married Charles Frederick Walter 4 Feb. 1894 at St Paul
Church, where he was an Elder. They had two children. The family lived on Braddock Ave in Bellrose where Charles was a truck farmer. He died 29 Jul. 1955 and Elizabeth on 24 Sept. 1965.Both
are buried at St Paul Cemetery.
-
George was the first of the children to be born in Fosters Meadow (8 Apr 1876) and baptized at St Paul Church. He married a Fosters Meadow girl, Mary
Wenner (b. Sept 1875) at St Paul on 25 Jan. 1899. They had one child. George farmed on what is today Hempstead Turnpike, near the Hempstead village line. George died in 1952 and Mary in
1959. They are buried at Greenfield Cemetery.
-
Anna Sophia was born at Springfield 24 July 1878 and baptized at St Paul. She married John Jagnow 15 Nov. 1903 at St Paul. He was born in Germany
24 June 1880 and farmed in Douglaston. He died 4 June 1924 and she died 8 Oct. 1943. Both are buried at St Paul.
-
John was born on the Springfield farm 10 Nov. 1880. He married Margaret Mirschel 3 Sept. 1902 at St Paul Church, the same church where they both
were baptized and where he served as Trustee. After his father died, he ran the farm for his mother. That was when he got the reputation as the “Tomato King of Long Island” as that was his
specialty crop. Around 1916 John moved his family to a 60-acre farm on Plainview Road in Hicksville where he continued farming. John died 5 May 1946 and Margaret 8 Feb. 1971. They are buried
at Greenfield Cemetery.
-
Katherine was born at Springfield 14 May 1886 and baptized at St Paul, where she married Charles Henry Wientge 30 Apr. 1907. Charles was a farm
laborer, a market man taking another farmer’s crops to market and eventually had a farm of his own in the Creedmoor section of the Town of Flushing near the border with the Town of North
Hempstead. Charles died 7 Mar. 1929 and Katherine 12 Oct. 1961 and they are buried at St Paul Cemetery. They had three children.
-
Maria was born on the farm in Springfield 10 Nov. 1889 and baptized at St Paul 5 Jan. 1890. She died 19 Jul. 1895 and is buried at St Paul
Cemetery.
Submitted by Paul Hoffman, with family
input from Nancy Stiehler
Thurston
November 2019
Email: PWH115@Optonline.net